Japanese
Japan is one of Australia's largest trading partners and an important international trading nation. Japan is also one of the largest sources of tourists to Australia. Queensland's Gold Coast is home to 2,000 permanent Japanese residents, hundreds of young Japanese on Working Holiday visas and is visited by thousands of Japanese tourists each year. As your Japanese develops it is easy to find part-time employment in restaurants and bars, duty-free shops and tour guiding. Using the language in a practical way outside the classroom is a great way to master the language. There are excellent opportunities for careers in a great many areas involving Japan and Japanese.
Our Japanese program will not only develop your proficiency in the language. You will also develop awareness of the intricate cultural and social values that are essential for effective and appropriate interaction in Japanese.
Griffith offers all levels of Japanese language on both the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses. It also offers introductory Japanese history courses and contemporary Japanese culture and society courses. Japanese language at Griffith has been consistently taught in the communicative way since its establishment, and it has produced a number of graduates who now work in the fields of international business, tourism, education, and government offices in Japan as well as in Australia. Griffith has also been a home to several winners of state and national Japanese speech contests. The courses in the Japanese programme are focused on practical use of Japanese language in both written and spoken forms. The unique ‘progressive streaming’ structure that is combined with a student exchange programme with numerous Japanese sister universities flexibly caters for diverse student needs in the language. Active Japan Clubs on both campuses, and regular tours to Japan add to the student experience at Griffith.
Japanese self assessment
Studied Japanese at high school or spent time in-country? Self-assess your current Japanese ability and determine which Griffith Japanese course would suit you.
Note that the descriptions assume that communication is with native speakers of Japanese who do not help you by using anything other than Japanese. If you have never used Japanese under these circumstances, try to imagine what you would be able to do if you had the opportunity. Likewise, if you have never used Japanese to perform the particular reading tasks given, try to think of tasks of similar difficulty that you have undertaken. Note also the references to script at the top of the reading and writing subscales. You will also note that the subscale for Reading is supported by actual texts, tasks and a 'key' to help you judge how well you did on the tasks. Only subscales are provided for the other macroskills (Speaking, Listening and Writing).
Having determined your ISLPR level for each of the four macroskills (eg Speaking 1+, Listening 1, Reading 1, Writing 1), you will then need to consult the listing of Japanese courses and their descriptions which can be found under the Program Structure for the Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Applied Linguistics. The descriptions include the 'overall' ISLPR ratings for entry to each course. If your proficiency is at different levels in different skills, your course choice will be dependent on your preference and choice of skills you wish to emphasise.
For further assistance please contact us.